Arias case likely far from over even after verdict

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press
| 12:38 p.m.May 8, 2013

Jodi Arias reacts after she was found of guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in their suburban Phoenix home, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)
— AP

Jodi Arias reacts after she was found of guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in their suburban Phoenix home, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)
/ AP

In this image made from pool video provided by APTN, Jodi Arias reacts during the reading of the verdict at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Wednesday, May 8, 2013. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend in Arizona after a four-month trial that captured headlines with lurid tales of sex, lies, religion and a salacious relationship that ended in a blood bath. (AP Photo/APTN, Pool)— AP

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In this image made from pool video provided by APTN, Jodi Arias reacts during the reading of the verdict at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Wednesday, May 8, 2013. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend in Arizona after a four-month trial that captured headlines with lurid tales of sex, lies, religion and a salacious relationship that ended in a blood bath. (AP Photo/APTN, Pool)
/ AP

PHOENIX 
A jury found Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder, but the case is far from over.

Arias, 32, was convicted of first-degree murder in the June 4, 2008, death of her Travis Alexander, her one-time boyfriend, at his suburban Phoenix home.

Testimony began in early January. Jurors reached a verdict Wednesday after deliberating for about 15 hours over four days.

The trial will now move into a phase during which prosecutors will argue the killing was committed in an especially cruel, heinous and depraved manner, called the "aggravation" phase. Both sides may call witnesses and show evidence during a mini trial of sorts. The jurors are the same and will reconvene at 1 p.m. Thursday.

There are two options for the jury:

OPTION 1:

The panel doesn't find the presence of aggravating factors. In this case, the judge dismisses them and sentences Arias to either the rest of her life in prison or life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.

OPTION 2:

The jurors find there were aggravating factors, and the case moves into a penalty phase. The same jury decides whether Arias should be executed or get life in prison. This portion of the case could go on for several weeks, and additional witnesses could be called by both sides. If jurors don't reach a unanimous agreement on the death penalty, the judge sentences Arias to either the rest of her life in prison or life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.